After a lot of delay and negotiations, the new minimum wage for the garment industry workers has been increased from US $ 128 to US $ 140, in effect from January 2016. Although, even after the 9.4 per cent rise, the minimum wage is less than the proposed US $ 160. The decision came after a vote by the Labour Advisory Committee (LAC) for US $ 135, which was hiked to US $ 140 by Prime Minister Hun Sen. The factory owners had warned that if the raise is higher than the current inflation rate of 3.5 per cent, then it would get tough to compete in the global market, but they were later on assured by the labour minister, that the current rise of US $ 12 would not affect Cambodia’s competitiveness. Cambodia still ranks near the bottom at US $ 140, well above Bangladesh and Sri Lanka but roughly on par with Vietnam, where the minimum wage ranges from $100 to $146 depending on the region. Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand are higher still.
